APPLE’S TV: Apple has been talking to media companies about its big plans in the TV business for years — from the idea of making actual televisions to making a replacement for a cable set-top box to a plan that would get it special treatment on Comcast’s cables. All along, a hurdle has been securing rights from the media companies that own TV programming. In the last few months, those talks began to heat up again, and Apple began to zero in on creating some sort of slimmed down cable package, Recode reported last month. Now, details are emerging about the plan: the “skinny” bundle would launch this fall across all iOS devices like Apple TVs and iPads, have about 25 channels, and be priced at about $30 to $40 a month, WSJ reports. Broadcasters like ABC, CBS and Fox would likely be signed on. One notable absentee: Comcast’s NBCUniversal, which had a falling out with Apple during an earlier round of talks. As these “skinny bundle” options proliferate — Dish just launched its own $20 a month version, Sling TV — everyone from big broadcasters to mid-tier cable channels will have to jockey for which services they want to be a part of. Consumers, too, will have to think hard about their media diet: an Apple service here, some Netflix there, tack on some Hulu maybe. It’s a scary thought for cable companies married to the old bundle model.